Interactive whiteboards, also known as IWB’s, are large interactive displays which connect to computers and projectors to create a whiteboard that is controlled digitally rather than being written onin pen.
This allows many applications to be run through the whiteboard from your laptop or PC, making interaction possible but with a more intuitive interface than on your PC.
As such, these are highly popular for both educational purposes and in business where they are particularly useful for presentations and displays.
The interactive whiteboard shows the projected contents of the computer screen,and is sensitive to touch, creating a large touch screen.
This can be controlled by fingers, a stylus, a digital pen or a combination of those things depending on the exact product and its intended use.
Most use either a stylus or digital pen and for this type of touch based operation the interactive whiteboard uses a thin membrane stretched over its surface which bends under pressure and makes contact with a 'backplate' at the point of contact which is registered by the hardware.